TVMost has done a great job in providing an innovative media platform for Hong Kong people, especially the younger generation, Commercial Radio deputy chair Winnie Yu said at an awards ceremony Monday. Photo: NowTV

What we should watch in a One Media deal

With Media Chinese International (00685.HK), which owns Mingpao Daily, confirming that it is in the process of selling its magazine subsidiary One Media Group (00426.HK), all eyes are on the future of a prized asset – 100Most.

100Most, arguably Hong Kong’s hippest youth-oriented media platform that thrives on creative derivative works, is a subsidiary of Blackpaper, in which One Media Group invested HK$1 million for a 10 percent stake four years ago.

It is believed that 100 Most has seen big jump in valuation, especially after it launched TVMost, a short film and video website, and quickly gathered close to 700,000 likes on Facebook.

On Monday, 100Most organized its first-ever awards ceremony. The event, held at the Queen Elizabeth Stadium, was reminiscent of the annual music awards organized by TVB and the three local radio stations.

There was a lot of social media buzz and everyone seemed to have had a good time.

While it is anybody’s guess as to who will buy out the 10 percent stake in Blackpaper if there is a sale of One Media Group, I am surprised that no one has speculated that it could be Blackpaper itself which might take over the One Media Group.

It would be a Facebook-like social media play that is both popular and profitable.

Blackpaper is a little miracle in itself. Found by three former Commercial Radio disc jockeys, including Lam Yat-hei (real name Roy Chui), in March 2013, its first magazine “100Most” managed to break even within six months after launch.

As opposed to the mainstream glossies and their paparazzi style of reporting, 100Most, which is published every Thursday, specialized in listing the 100 most popular items in the week, with each item ranging between 100 and 500 Chinese words.

The main idea was creating derivative works that were meant to be funny and reflective of the general mood of our youngsters, many of who would label themselves as “junk youngsters (廢青)”.

Last May, 100Most developed an online TV platform that produces a daily news clip, quickly winning the hearts of the targeted young audience.

Many artists, politicians and former TV anchors showed up in their programs, fueling intense online discussions.

A recent episode, for instance, featured Lau Ming-wai, the “dream guy” son of property tycoon Joseph Lau Luen-hung and the chairman of the government’s Commission for Youth.

As noted in a One Media Group document, Blackpaper is now officially a company that provides creative multimedia services and advertising campaigns. In the year ended March 2015, it posted a satisfactory financial performance.

The company recorded HK$21 million in turnover and HK$8 million in gross profit, and managed to deliver a dividend of HK$40,000 to One Media Group.

We can only dream how hot Blackpaper will be when it files for a listing on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, or possibly China’s New Third Board — which is notorious for offering valuations of over 100 times earnings.

Meanwhile, let us also not rule out the possibility that the company could make an attempt at backdoor listing — via One Media.

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